Joseph Touchemoulin


Joseph Touchemoulin was a French violinist and composer of the classical period who mainly worked in Bonn and Regensburg.

Biography

Born in Chalon-sur-Saône, Joseph Touchemoulin, the son of the town's oboist Louis Touchemoulin and his wife Jeanne Roulot, had been employed as a violinist at the court of the elector of Cologne of Bavaria in Bonn from a very early age. This enabled him to study in Italy, where he was taught by Giuseppe Tartini who was also the one who inspired Touchemoulin to develop his compositional skills. He returned to Bonn in 1753, where his salary was augmented by 1,000 fl. in March 1753. The following year, one of his symphonies was performed successfully at the Paris Concert Spirituel on 15 August. On 4 February 1761, he was appointed maître de chapelle in Bonn, instead of the more senior singer Ludwig van Beethoven, the grandfather of the composer of the same name, contrary to customary practice. But only two days later the Elector died. The halving of the musician's salaries by his successor Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels prompted Touchemoulin to resign and to take up a position at the court of the princes of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg that same year, which he retained until the end of his life - first as violinist, then as princely Kapellmeister after the death of Joseph Riepel in 1782.
He died in Regensburg on 25 October 1801 where his tombstone is preserved in the Saint Emmeram's Abbey.

Works

Touchemoulin composed 18 symphonies and five violin concertos. Only few of his works were printed, and his work was forgotten after his death. Many manuscripts are scattered throughout European and American music libraries. The most extensive collection is held in the Thurn und Taxis Library in Regensburg.
The following works have been assigned to Touchemoulin without a doubt.
All his operas are lost:
CD recordings
Eberhard Kraus, harpsichord; includes: Chaconne D major